Astara, Iran

:"Astara is also the name of a Raion in Azerbaijan, see Astara (rayon). For the capital of Astara raion, see Astara, Azerbaijan."Infobox Settlement
official_name = Astara
native_name =


imagesize =
image_caption =


image_



map_caption =
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position =bottom
pushpin_mapsize = 300
pushpin_map_caption =Location in Iran
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name =‎
subdivision_name1 = Gilan Province
subdivision_type2 =
subdivision_name2 =
established_title =
established_date =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
area_magnitude =
area_total_sq_mi =
area_total_km2 =
area_land_sq_mi =
area_land_km2 =
area_urban_sq_mi =
area_urban_km2 =
area_metro_km2 =
area_metro_sq_mi =
population_as_of=
population_footnotes =
population_total =
population_urban =
population_metro =
population_density_sq_mi =
population_density_km2 =
timezone =
utc_offset =
timezone_DST =
utc_offset_DST =
latd=38|latm=25|lats=25|latNS=N
longd=48|longm=52|longs=24|longEW=E
elevation_footnotes=
elevation_m =
elevation_ft =
postal_code_type =
postal_code =
area_code =
website =
footnotes =

Astara ( _fa. آستارا) is a city in the Iranian province of Gilan. It lies on the border with Azerbaijan Republic and on the Caspian Sea. It is a relatively important border trade center between Iran and the Caucasus.

Etymology

The city's name is derived from the Talysh word اوسته‌رو (Osta-ro or hosta-ro), meaning "the place where the travel gets slower" (given the marshlands that surrounded the region before). [http://www.iau-astara.ac.ir/main%20menu.htm] .

History

Astara is an area where Zoroaster may have visited. Its history dates back to 6,000 years ago. The spoken language was Talysh, but due to commerce with Azeris and migration of Azeris into town, the use of Talysh has been reduced significantly.

There is also a city with this name just on the opposite side of the border, within the Republic of Azerbaijan. The northern Astara (in present-day Azerbaijan) was ceded from Persia by the Treaty of Gulistan of 1813 between Russia and Persia.

People

* Population: about 90,000
* Religion: Mostly Islam Shi'a Islam and sonni(mostly in people who speak Talysh language)
* Ethnic groups: Talysh, Azeris
* Language: Talysh, Azeri, Persian and Galyishi

Famous people from astara

* Nima Youshij - a famous Iranian poet who was living in exile in Astara
* Behzad Behzadi - an author of Azerbaijani language dictionaries
* Payan Rafat - football player
* Akbar Exir - Poet

Transport

Astara is a railhead for the broad gauge Azerbaijan Railways.

References

External links

* [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/search/searchpdf.isc?ReqStrPDFPath=/home1/iranica/articles/v2_articles/astara&OptStrLogFile=/home/iranica/public_html/logs/pdfdownload.html Astara] entry in the [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/home/index.isc Encyclopædia Iranica]
* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/AJ/8/Astara.html FallingRain Map - elevation = -23m (Red dots are railways)]